Elitism in Masters Swimming

I recently joined a masters club & am finding it a bit disappointing in some ways. First, because the bulkhead is always up (dividing the pool into two 25m pools), and the whole reason I joined this particular club was that the sessions were held in a 50m pool. If I'd known, I probably would have just joined up with the master-type class at the YWCA, registered as an "unattached" and saved my money. Second, because there doesn't seem to be any actual coaching in the form of stroke correction so far, just workouts. (It is only three weeks so far, admittedly.) Third, because the intervals are really short and for the most part not very strenuous. I find the kick sets strenuous, but not the actual swimming. The one night there was a tougher one - 200m on 4:00, which is eye-balls out for me - I couldn't swim continuously because there were always people clinging to the wall or bulkhead at the end of each length. I'd have to wait for them to leave, let them get a few meters out, then start the next length. Flip turns, not that I do them well anyway, are impossible in this situation. Supposedly, the ability to swim 200m continuously is the only swim requirement for joining this club, but I suspect there are a few people in my group who don't quite meet it. I don't know if I should move up to the next fastest group and use fins for the kick sets, or just insist on going ahead of the two swimmers in my current group who are slower than me. The others seem to be about the same speed as me. I'm sort of hoping they take us aside at some point and ask what our individual goals are, because this doesn't seem to be great training for moving up to 5k distance in open water, which is what I'm hoping to do. Not having any experience with swim clubs, I have no idea if this club is typical or not. My experiences are... * Our pool is set up long course April through August when training for long-course meets. September through March the bulkhead is in to train for short-course meets and to make life easier since we share with high school teams that only swim short-course. It also provides more lanespace short-course and it's easier to manage a group with diverse skill levels. * Most coaches will vary workouts over the course of a season. Early fall is generally a time to work on establishing an endurance base. Later on the swimmers will add more intensity and work on racing skills. * Even within a club the coaching can vary depending on who is filling the coach position. Each coach will have his own philosophy; or maybe the club is searching for a replacement coach and "making do" with a warm body on deck. Some new/younger coaches can be very intimidated with adults who question and negotiate each set. * Be polite but assertive about taking your proper position in the correct lane. New swimmers may not "get it" that they are interfering with your workout and might be focusing on survival rather than fitting into the "flow" of the lane. * Talk to your coach ! (He can't read your mind.)

I recently joined a masters club & am finding it a bit disappointing in some ways. First, because the bulkhead is always up (dividing the pool into two 25m pools), and the whole reason I joined this particular club was that the sessions were held in a 50m pool. If I'd known, I probably would have just joined up with the master-type class at the YWCA, registered as an "unattached" and saved my money. Second, because there doesn't seem to be any actual coaching in the form of stroke correction so far, just workouts. (It is only three weeks so far, admittedly.) Third, because the intervals are really short and for the most part not very strenuous. I find the kick sets strenuous, but not the actual swimming. The one night there was a tougher one - 200m on 4:00, which is eye-balls out for me - I couldn't swim continuously because there were always people clinging to the wall or bulkhead at the end of each length. I'd have to wait for them to leave, let them get a few meters out, then start the next length. Flip turns, not that I do them well anyway, are impossible in this situation. Supposedly, the ability to swim 200m continuously is the only swim requirement for joining this club, but I suspect there are a few people in my group who don't quite meet it. I don't know if I should move up to the next fastest group and use fins for the kick sets, or just insist on going ahead of the two swimmers in my current group who are slower than me. The others seem to be about the same speed as me. I'm sort of hoping they take us aside at some point and ask what our individual goals are, because this doesn't seem to be great training for moving up to 5k distance in open water, which is what I'm hoping to do. Not having any experience with swim clubs, I have no idea if this club is typical or not. My experiences are... * Our pool is set up long course April through August when training for long-course meets. September through March the bulkhead is in to train for short-course meets and to make life easier since we share with high school teams that only swim short-course. It also provides more lanespace short-course and it's easier to manage a group with diverse skill levels. * Most coaches will vary workouts over the course of a season. Early fall is generally a time to work on establishing an endurance base. Later on the swimmers will add more intensity and work on racing skills. * Even within a club the coaching can vary depending on who is filling the coach position. Each coach will have his own philosophy; or maybe the club is searching for a replacement coach and "making do" with a warm body on deck. Some new/younger coaches can be very intimidated with adults who question and negotiate each set. * Be polite but assertive about taking your proper position in the correct lane. New swimmers may not "get it" that they are interfering with your workout and might be focusing on survival rather than fitting into the "flow" of the lane. * Talk to your coach ! (He can't read your mind.)